Drinking tea daily may lead to longer life

In good news for Anglophiles and tea enthusiasts everywhere, a recent study has found that drinking two cups of tea per day may help you live longer. The study, conducted in Australia, found that women who drank a couple cups of tea daily were significantly less likely to die during the study period than those who drank no tea.

The researchers analyzed health records and diet information from more than 1,000 women over the age of 75 and tracked them for five years. By the end of the study period, 88 percent of the women were still alive. The researchers found that women who drank an average of two cups of tea per day were about 40 percent less likely to die during the study than those who didn't.

Tea's life-preserving properties are mainly due to the flavonoids it contains. Flavonoids are plant compounds found in certain foods, like wine, chocolate, fruit and coffee, that have been shown to fight heart disease and cancer. The study also tracked the women's consumption of coffee, but tea had the greatest effect on the women's flavonoid levels. According to the Journal of Clinical Nutrition, two cups of tea contain about 350 milligrams of flavonoids.

"Tea is a major source of flavonoid compounds in the diet. These findings are good news for British tea drinkers, many of whom are the same age as the women in this study," said Catherine Hood of the Tea Advisory Panel. "Older women at present drink just over two cups of tea daily on average but one in five don't drink any tea and could benefit their health by doing so."

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